Alumna Sabrina Taldone and her mother Suzanne Taldone found a way for students to never forget their time at the University of Miami, all while allowing them to win prizes and participate in UM traditions.

It’s called UM Tradition Keeper Program, an online guidebook and memory keepsake that students can use to have a personalized memento of their time as an undergraduate. It records university traditions like the Canes spell-out at football games and Homecoming.

“This book is an awesome resource for students who want to get to know UM traditions and want to be able to chronicle their way through their undergraduate career,” Sabrina Taldone said.

The online program includes general information about these traditions and allows students to chronicle their individual experiences.

Tradition Keeper has a “Learn More About this Tradition” option that describes why a specific occasion or place is a tradition in the first place.

If you upload a picture eating at the Rathskeller for example, a drop down menus provides you with background information about the Rat.

Submitting photos like these has rewards. Tradition Keeper awards prizes for completing certain tasks and is level based.

The first level is reached when five pictures of the specified traditions are uploaded, and the prize is a pair of UM sunglasses. The second level requires 10 pictures, and students earn a UM pin. The third and final level, reached after 20 pictures, gives students a UM medallion and the title of “Tradition Keeper.”

Tradition Keeper is available for free unless students want to purchase a finalized version of their books as a keepsake. All freshmen and seniors were sent an email with their login information, but sophomores and juniors and encouraged to participate as well.

This program has been in the works since Sabrina’s senior year at UM in 2010. Taldone had several friends who felt they were about to graduate but did not know university traditions well.

She and her mother created a list of traditions and after partnering with the Alumni Association, they created an online platform for students to engage with the traditions.

Taldone hopes that the program, which launched this year, will take flight and that everyone will be wearing their sunglasses come time for homecoming.

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The Miami Hurricane is the student newspaper of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. The newspaper is edited and produced by undergraduate students at UM and is published weekly in print on Tuesdays during the regular academic year.